Jack stick connector



Sept. 19, 1950 w. E. LUNDGREN 2,522,625

JACK STICK CONNECTOR Filed Sept. 24, 1948 gas 4% 53' INVENTOR. WILLIAM E LUNDGREN UMQXDW ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 19, 1950 JACK STICK CONNECTOR William E. Lundgren; Sharon, Mass, assignor to The M. W. Kellogg Company, Jersey City, N. J a corporation of Delaware Application September 24, 1948, Serial No. 50,931

15 Claims.

The present invention relates to a jack stick connection for the harness frame of a loom.

The conventional loom has two or more harness frames constituting part of the shedding mechanism and adapted to be reciprocated vertically to form the sheds for the shuttle passage. Secured to the lower part of each harness frame is a jack stick connected to a cam operated treadle by a jack strap connection. The jack stick tends to equalize all forces applied to the harness frame, so that when it is depressed, the harness frame and, consequently, the shed will always be parallel to the lay.

For mounting the jack stick to its corresponding harness frame, there is generally provided a simple hook and eye connection between each end of the jack stick and the bottom of said harness frame. This general type of Jack connection has a great deal of lost motion inherent therein which causes the jack stick to sway about a vertical axis with respect to the harness frame and also to play relatively towards and away from the harness frame especially during reversal of harness movements and particularly during high speed operations.

One object of the present invention is to provide a new and improved Jack stick connection, which is rugged and sturdy but is nevertheless of comparatively simple inexpensive construction, which permits easy mounting or demounting of the Jack stick, which is substantially free from lost motion or play in vertical directions, which prevents substantial sway of the jack stick with respect to the harness frame about a vertical axis, which transmits forces to the harness frame during loom operations along substantially straight unwavering vertical directions and which is safe from accidental disengagement during operations.

Various other objects of the invention are apparent from the following particular description and from an inspection of the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a perspective of the lower section of a harness and jack stick device showing a jack stick connection embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a view partly in section and partly in front elevation of the jack stick connection on the verge of being assembled or disassembled;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the jack stick connection in assembled operative position;

Fig. 4 is a perspective, in broken fragment, of a link constituting part of the jack stick connection of the present invention;

Fig. 5 is a plan view of a blank cut Out and bendable to form a lock washer for one of the hook elements of the jack stick connection of the present invention; and

Fig. 6 is a perspective of the lock washer made from the blank shown in Fig. 5.

Referring to the drawing, the invention is shown applied to a harness l0 extending across the loom in a substantially vertical plane and comprising a substantially rectangular wooden harness frame i I and a series of heddles or wires 02 provided with eyes through which the yarn is drawn to deflne'the shed lines. These heddles are connected to the bottom and top harness frame pieces by means of a heddle bar l3 in the conventional manner. A jack stick it, desirably shorter than the bottom harness frame piece l5 and desirably made of wood, is provided parallel to and below said frame piece. The jack stick H is connected to the harness frame piece H: by an improved connection H5 at each end of said jack stick. Only one of these connections is shown at one end of the jack stick [4 but it must be understood that the connection at the other end of the jack stick is of similar construction.

5 The jack stick connection N5 of the present invention comprises an upper hook 20 fastened to the underside of the bottom harness frame piece IS, a lower hook 2| fastened to the upper side of the jack stick l4 and a connecting link 22 therebetween. The upper hook 20 is cleft or bifurcated to define two similar opposed flat hooked branches 23 integrally interconnected at their upper ends by a web 24. The lower hook 2| is similarly cleft or bifurcated to define two simiar opposed fiat hooked branches 25 interconnected at their lower ends by a web 26. The two hooks 20 and 2| are arranged in superposed reversed relationship with the two superposed hooked branches 23 and 25 on each side in vertical plane alignment.

The link 22 is fiat and extends at its upper end snugly with a free slide fit into the space between the hooked branches 23 of the upper hook 20 in flat face to face contact with said branches and at its lower end snugly with a free slid fit into the space between the hooked branches 25 of the lower hook 2| in flat face to face contact with said branches 25. Cylindrical pins 21 are provided at the upper section of the link 22, as for example, by press-fitting a slender rod through a hole in said link, and project from the opposite sides therefrom into the crooks of the flanking branches 23 of the upper hook 20. Cy-

lindrical pins 28 are similarly provided at the lower section of the link 22 and project from opposite sides therefrom into the crooks of the flanking branches 25 of the lower hook 2|.

To latch the hooks 20 and 2| in position on the link 22 against displacement relative thereto along its length, there is provided a catch 30 in the form of a round button' supported on said link midway thereof and engaging the adjoining opposed ends of a pair of vertically aligned superposed hooked branches 23 and 25 of said hooks on one side of said link. This catch de sirably constitutes the head of a rivet passing through the link 22 and permanently fastened thereto by upsetting the end of said rivet opposite said head.

The hooks 20 and 2| and the link 22 with its catch 30 are designed to permit easy assembly or disassembly of the jack stick connector I 6. To that end, each of the lower branches 25 is given the form of a hook by a straight slot 3| extending in a direction which is obliquely downward from its base to its open end with respect to the vertical and which is generally indicated by the median dot and dash line A. The upper edge 32 of each lower hook branch 25 and especially the one in contact with the catch 30 is substantially convexly circular in curvature and has a radius sufllciently small, so that when the link 22 is swung angularlyoutwardly about the axis of the upper pins 21 through a comparatively small angle, the dot and dash line B, which is tangent or engages the' outer edge of the lower catch engaging hook branch 25 and which is parallel to the slot line A, passes beyond the catch 30 as shown in Fig. 2. In this tilted position of the link 22, the lower catch engaging hook branch 25 clears the catch 30, so that the lower hook 2| can be moved obliquely upwardly and outwardly along the slot line A to disengage said lower hook from the pins 25 and in turn from said link. This disengagement of one of the Jack stick connections it, as described, can be effected by merely moving the jack stick l4 endwise towards the connection It to be disengaged, until the link 22 of said connection is in the tilted hook releasing position shown in Fig. 2. The end of the jack stick l4 nearest the connection I5 to be disengaged is then lifted in a direction parallel to the slot line A. as described. to effect complete disengagement of said connection. The other .iack stick connection Hi can then be disengaged by a simple manipulation.

The assembly or engagement of a connection l5 at one end of the jack stick l4, after the connection H5 at the other end of said stick has been engaged. can be made by reversing the operations for disengagement above described.

The upper hook branches 23 are desirably shaped like the lower hook branches 25 to permit the upper and lower hooks and 2| to be interchangeable, to facilitate assembly or disassembly and to afford a jack stick connection substantially free from vertical play, from rotative play about a vertical axis therethrough or from play transverse to the plane of the harness frame II.

By making the confronting edges of the upper and lower hook branches 23 and 25 in engagement with the circular catch circular and substantially concentric with the respective axes of the correspondin pins 21 and 28, these edges will remain substantially in engagement with said catch even after the link 22 has been tilted from upright positon, so that power can be transmitted through the jack stick connections IS in this tilted condition of-its links 22 without substantial vertical play.

It should be noted, that the jack stick connections l5 are always in tension during operations, since the harness I0 is pulled down at the bottom by its cam operated -treadle and is pulled up from the top for return movement by the downward movement of an adjoining harness or by a spring return motion in a manner well known in the art. The catch 30 locks the connections l5 against accidental disengagement during these harness operations.

The upper hook 20 is secured to the bottom harness frame piece I5 by a stud 35 passing through said frame piece edgewise thereof and threaded into its web 24. The stud 35 is shown comprising a head 35, and a short shank 31 below said head of square cross-section adapted to be forced into the wood of the bottom harness frame piece l5, to hold thereby said stud against rotation, as the upper hook 20 is turned to screw on to the lower threaded end of said stud.

The lower hook 2| is similarly secured to the jack stick, I4 by a stud similar to the stud 35.

The upper hook 20 is locked against rotation about the axis of the stud 35 by a locking device 40 shown in the form of a washer clamped between said hook and the underside of the bottom harness frame piece I5 and having a pair of upstanding tabs 4| and 42 at each end driven into the wood of said frame piece and a pair of depending tabs 43 and 44 at each end engaging the sides of said upper hook and thereby holding said hook against rotation. This lock washer is desirably cut and stamped from a blank 45 shown in Fig. 5. The blank 45 comprises a flat rectangular sheet of metal having a central hole 45 to permit the stud 35 to pass therethrough and having two angle cuts 41 and 48 at opposite ends in reverse relationship and in centered position with respect to the sides of said blank. These angle cuts define panels Ma and 43a at one end of the blank and panels 42a and 44a at the other end. The panels Ma and 42a are bent upwardly along the fold lines 50 and 5| respectively to form the upstanding tabs 4| and 42 respectively of the lock washer 40, and the panels 43a and 440 are bent downwardly along the fold lines 52 and 53 respectively to form the depending tabs 43 and 44 respectively of said lock washer.

When the lock washer 40 is first set-up, the

panels Ma and 42a of the blank are bent upwardly to form the tabs 4| and 42 respectively, while the panels 43a and 44a remain unbent and in the plane of the main body of the blank. The lock washer partly shaped as described is then secured to the underside of the bottom harness frame-piece I5 by driving the tabs 4| and 42 into said frame piece. The upper hook 20 is then secured to the underside of the bottom harness frame piece I 5 against the lock washer 40 by screwing on to the stud 35. When the hook 20 has been secured fast to the underside of bottom harness frame piece l5 and is in proper rotative position with its flat confronting branch faces parallel to the plane of the harness frame II as shown in the drawings, the panels 43a and 44a of the washer are bent downwardly against the sides of said hook to lock said hook'against rotation about the axis of the stud 35.

The lower hook 2| need not be locked by a similar lock washer, since this hook will be lockedagainst rotation about the axis of the corresponding stud by the locking of the upper hook 29.

While the invention has been described with ama 8 particular reference to a specific embodiment, it is to be understood that it is not to be limited. thereto but is to be construed broadly and restricted solely by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A jack stick connection for a loom, comprising a pair of hooks adapted to besecured in superposed relationship ,to a bottom harness frame piece and to a jack stick respectively and presenting flat surfaces, and a link between said hooks having catching engagement therewith and having a flat surface in engagement with the flat surfaces on said hooks, whereby said link and said hooks are held against relative rotation about the longitudinal axis of said link.

2. A jack stick connection for a loom, comprising a pair of hooks adapted to be secured in superposed relationship to a bottom harness frame piece and to a jack stick respectively, a link extending between said hooks and having means catching on to said hooks, and means on said link intermediate its ends engaging said hooks to prevent relative movement of said hooks towards and away from each other along said link.

3. A jack stick connection for a loom, comprising a pair of link fastening members adapted to be secured in superposed relationship to a bot tom harness frame piece and to a jack stick respectively, a link extending between said members and having detachable pivotal connections near its ends with said members respectively, and means on said link intermediate its ends engaging said hooks to prevent relative movement of said hooks towards and away from each other along said link.

4. A jack stick connection for a loom, comprising a pair of hooks adapted to be secured in superposed relationship to a bottom harness frame piece and to a jack stick respectively and each bifurcated to define two opposed hook branches, and a link having axially aligned pins projecting from each end, said link extending at each end between the branches of the corresponding hook with the pins at said end caught in the crooks of said latter branches, and means holding said hooks against relative movement towards and away from each other along said link.

5. A jack stick connection as described in claim 4, in which the inner facing surfaces of each pair of opposed branches are flat, and said link has its surfaces in engagement with said inner facing branch surfaces also flat and extending substantially snugly with free slide fits into the spaces defined between said latter surfaces, whereby said link and said hooks are held against relative rotation about the longitudinal axis of said link.

6. A jack stick connection as described in claim 4, said holding means comprising a catch mounted on said link and engaging the ends of a pair of corresponding superposed branches on one side of said link.

7. A jack stick connection for a loom, comprising an upper link fastening member adapted to be secured to a bottom harness frame piece, a lower hook adapted to be secured to a jack stick below said upper member, a link upstanding between said upper member and said lower hook and having a pivotal connection at its upper end with said upper member, and having a pin at its lower end releasably caught in said lower hock, said lower hook having a pin engaging hook slot extending in a direction obliquely downwardly from its base to its open end .with

respect to the vertical, and a catch on said link '7, said catch having a circular periphery in engagement with said hook, and the part of said hook in engagement with said catch being circular and substantially concentric with the axis of said pin in operative position. I

9. A jack stick connection as described in claim 7, said upper link fastening member being in theform of a hook having a pin engaging hook slot extending in a direction obliquely upwardly from its base to its open end with respect to the vertical, said link having a pin at its upper end releasably caught in said upper link fastening member to define said pivotal connection, said catch engaging the periphery of said upper member to prevent the disengagement of said upper member from said link during operations.

10. A. jack stick connection as described in claim 7, said upper link fastening member being in the form of a hook having a pin engaging hook slot extending in a direction obliquely upwardly from its base to its open end with respect to the vertical, said link having a pin at its upper end releasably caught in said upper link fastening member to define said pivotal connection, said catch engaging the periphery of said upper member to prevent the disengagement of said upper member from said link during operations, and having a circular periphery in engagement with said upper member and said lower hook, the parts of said upper member and said hook in engagement with said catch being circular and substantially concentric with the respective pins in engagement therewith.

11. A Jack stick connection for a loom, comprising a pair of link fastening members, a pair of screw members for fastening said link fastening members in superposed relationship to a bottom harness frame piece and to ajack stick respectively, means locking one of said link fastening members against rotation about its corresponding screw member, a link extending between said link fastening members and having detachable pivotal connections near its ends with said latter members respectively, means locking said link fastening members and said link against relative rotation about the longitudinal axis of said link, and means for locking said link fastenin members for relative movement towards and away from each other along said link.

12. A jack stick connection for a loom as described in claim 11, said means for locking one of said link fastening members against rotation about its corresponding screw member comprising a lock washer adapted to extend between said latter link fastening member and the harness frame piece or jack stick to which said latter member is to be fastened and having one or more tabs adapted to be driven into the corresponding harness frame piece or jack stick and one or more panel sections adapted to be folded into engagement with the'latter link fastening member to form a tab or tabs by which said latter member may be locked against rotation 7 about its corresponding screw member.

aaaacas 13. A jack stick connection for a loom comprising a pair of link fastening members, a pair of screw members adapted to extend vertically through a bottom harness frame member and through a harness jack stick respectively to fasten said link fastening -members in superposed relation to said harness members respectively, a link extending between said link fastening members and having pivotal connections near its ends with said latter members respectively, and a lock washer between one of said harness members and the corresponding link fastening member secured to said latter harness member to lock said latter link fastening member against rotation.

14. A jack stick connection for a loom as described in claim 13, said lock washer being made from a single metal blank having angle cuts at opposite ends, and folded to form with said cuts a pair of upstanding tabs adapted to be driven into the hamessmember to which it is to be connected and a pair of depending tabs adapted to engage the sides of the link fastening member to be locked.

15. A jack stick connection for a loom, comprising a pair of books adapted to be secured in superposed relationship to a bottom harness frame piece and to a Jack stick respectively and each bifurcated to define two opposed similar hook branches having flat inner facing surfaces, the upper hook branches having respective pin engaging hook slots extending in a direction obliquely upwardly from their bases to their open ends with respect to the vertical, and the lower hook branches having respective pin engaging hook slots extending in a direction obliquely 8 downwardly from their bases to their open ends with respect to the vertical, a link having axially aligned pins projecting from each end, said link extending at each end between the branches of the corresponding hook with the pins at said end in the respective slots of said branches, said link having its surfaces in engagement with said inner branch surfaces flat and extending substantially snugly with free slide fits, and a catch on said link engaging the peripheries of a pair of superposed hook branches on one side of said link to prevent movement of said hooks relatively towards and away from each other along said link, said lower hook being releasable from said link by tilting the link about its upper support on said upper hook, until said lower hook is freed from said catch for pin disengaging movement in a direction parallel to the direction of the slots in said lower hook.

WILLIAM E. LUNDGREN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

Great Britain of 1964 

